Crowned by Fate Chapter 77

Adrian's POV

"Skye?" I called softly, hope and dread mingling in my chest. "Can you hear me?"

Her eyes snapped open suddenly, forest green irises wild with panic as she bolted upright.

"Nadia!" she gasped, her voice raw and broken. "You have to save her!"

I gently pressed her shoulders back against the pillows as she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed. "Easy, Skye. You're safe now. You're back at Oasisborn."

"No, you don't understand," she insisted. "Nadia poisoned herself to help me escape. She took wolfsbane—Lydia's special blend. It was meant for me, but she drank it instead."

The revelation hit me like a physical blow.

"Slow down," I urged as Skye's movements grew more frantic, nearly causing her to topple from the bed. "Tell me everything."

She clutched at my arm, her fingers digging in with desperate intensity. "Kane was keeping us in an underground cell—a dungeon beneath the main building. When they took her to the hospital after she collapsed, I managed to escape." Her eyes filled with tears. "But I promised I'd come back for her. I promised I wouldn't leave her there."

"I tried, Skye," I admitted, guilt weighing heavily on my words. "We infiltrated the hospital, but she wasn't there. Kane must have moved her after your escape."

Skye's face paled even further. "The dungeons," she whispered. "She'd be back in the dungeons now. He wouldn't risk keeping her somewhere I'd already escaped from. Get me a map. I need to show you exactly where they held us."

I retrieved the satellite imagery Garrett had provided, spreading it across her blanket-covered legs. Skye studied it intently, her finger tracing paths across the compound with surprising precision.

"Here," she said, tapping a spot near the main building's northern wing. "There's an entrance to the lower levels here, disguised as a storage cellar. The dungeon is two levels down, with six cells along the eastern wall. We were in the largest one, at the far end."

Her finger moved to another section of the map.

"And here's a secondary exit that leads to a maintenance tunnel. I saw it when they were moving us."

I memorized every detail, committing the layout to memory as Skye continued pointing out guard stations and potential weak points in Kane's security.

"What happened to you?" I finally asked, gently touching a particularly severe bruise along her jawline. "Did Kane..."

Skye shook her head, understanding my unspoken fear. "No, not in the way you're thinking. Most of these injuries happened during my escape. After I got out of the hospital, I managed to reach the territory border, but they spotted me. I had no choice but to shift and jump from the eastern cliffs."

My breath caught. "You jumped from Ravine Ridge? That's a forty-foot drop onto jagged rocks!"

"I didn't have many options," she replied with grim humor. "The shift suppressant they'd injected was still partially active. My wolf was disoriented, couldn't maintain balance during the fall." She winced, one hand moving unconsciously to her ribs. "I hit the rocks hard, lost my wolf form immediately. Had to continue on foot—naked, bleeding, with Kane's warriors closing in from every direction."

"You're remarkable," I said softly.

"Adrian, we need to get Nadia out. Today. Now." Her voice lowered, urgent and fearful. "Kane threatened... horrible things. And with the wolfsbane still in her system, she's completely defenseless."

I nodded grimly. "I'm already organizing a second rescue attempt."

"Wait," Skye gripped my arm. "What if we pretend to surrender? Buy time? Tell Kane you're accepting his terms. While you're negotiating the formal agreement, we can send a team through that secondary entrance I showed you."

It was risky—dangerously so. Kane wasn't a fool; he'd be suspicious of any too-easy capitulation.

But the alternative was a frontal assault against superior numbers on their home territory. We'd lose warriors, maybe many of them, and still might fail to recover Nadia.

"It could work," I conceded, already formulating the details. "A small team, our best infiltrators, while I keep Kane occupied with negotiation details."

"I'm coming with you," Skye announced, already trying to push herself up from the bed.

I placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Absolutely not. You've barely survived one escape. You need rest, recovery—"

"I know the layout," she interrupted, her jaw set with determination. "Every corridor, every guard post. I memorized it all during my captivity." Her eyes met mine, challenging and unyielding. "And I made Nadia a promise. I'm not breaking it."

I studied her face, recognizing the steel beneath her battered exterior.

"Alright," I relented, knowing further argument would be futile. "But you stay with me at all times. No heroics."

She nodded, relief washing over her features. "Thank you, Adrian."

***

One hour later, we had finalized our plan. I would lead the negotiation team—myself, Skye, and two of our most experienced warriors—to meet with Kane directly.

Meanwhile, Ryder would command a separate infiltration unit tasked with locating and extracting Nadia through the secret entrance Skye had identified.

Marcus would coordinate both teams from Oasisborn, maintaining communications and preparing our extraction routes.

Lydia had supplied both groups with enough weapons and wolf poison darts to neutralize Kane's security forces if necessary.

As the deadline approached, I picked up my phone and dialed the number Kane had called from earlier.

Kane answered on the third ring, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction.

"Adrian. I was beginning to think you'd chosen to sacrifice your Beta after all."

I forced my voice to remain steady, emotionless. "I'm accepting your terms."

A long pause followed, pregnant with suspicion. "Really? Just like that?"

"On the condition that Nadia is returned to us unharmed," I continued, following the script Skye and I had carefully planned. "I want proof she's alive before I sign anything."

Kane chuckled, the sound sending chills down my spine. "Of course. I'm a reasonable man. Come to my territory at sunset. Bring the formal paperwork acknowledging Oasisborn's surrender. Once I'm satisfied with the documents, you'll see your precious Beta."

"Agreed," I replied, the word like ash in my mouth.

As I ended the call, I turned to find my team watching me with varying expressions of shock, anger, and resolution. They knew this was a ruse, yet hearing their Alpha seemingly agree to surrender their home struck deep chords of instinctive protest.

"Prepare yourselves," I ordered, "By tomorrow, either Nadia returns with us to a free Oasisborn—or none of us return at all."